System and method for removing roof material

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for removing roof material includes providing a saw that is adapted for use in cutting roof material into sections of roof material and removing the sections of roof material from the roof. A set of generally flexible tines may be provided with a carriage to guide the tines along the roof. The tines are propelled toward and away from the roof in order to loosen the roof material.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 60/319,827, filed on Dec. 31, 2002, the disclosureof which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0002] The present invention is directed to a system and method forremoval of roof material. Although the invention is especially adaptedfor the removal of roof shingles, such as asbestos shingles, it may beused to remove other types of roof materials, such as cedar shakes,membrane roofing systems, and the like.

[0003] Even though various devices have been proposed, the commontechnique for removing roof materials is manual labor. The user utilizesa pry bar, or the like, to pry off a section of shingles and throws theshingles over the side of the roof to the ground. From there, theshingles are deposited into a dumpster. This is a relatively slow anddangerous operation and leaves roofing nails in the homeowner's yard.Moreover, the roofing material is deposited in a landfill where isaccumulates along with other discarded materials.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0004]FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a roof material removing apparatus,according to the invention;

[0005]FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus in FIG. 1;

[0006]FIG. 3 is a detailed drawing of a tong assembly;

[0007]FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the tong assembly in FIG. 3;

[0008]FIG. 5 is a side elevation of a saw assembly, according to theinvention;

[0009]FIG. 6 is a front elevation of the saw assembly;

[0010]FIG. 7 is a side elevation of a saw guard;

[0011]FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the saw guard in FIG. 7;

[0012]FIG. 9 is a further view of the saw guard in FIG. 8;

[0013]FIG. 10 is a side elevation of a shredder blade assembly;

[0014]FIG. 11 is a side elevation of another shredder blade assembly;

[0015]FIG. 12 is the same view as FIG. 1 of an alternative embodimentthereof;

[0016]FIG. 13 is a side elevation of a spring bolt; and

[0017]FIG. 14 is a side elevation of discharge duct.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0018] Referring now specifically to the drawings, and the illustrativeembodiments depicted therein, a roof material removal apparatus 10includes a set of flexible lifting tines 12 and a carriage 14 to guidethe tines along a roof (FIG. 1). The tines 12 are moved toward and awayfrom the roof. This may be accomplished by providing a set of wheels 16,one of which is out of round, preferably the wheel closest to the set oftines. In the illustrative embodiment, the front wheel 16 is made in ahexagonal shape, although other shapes may be possible. The rear wheelsmay be used to steer the machine. In the illustrative embodiment, thefront wheels propel the carriage, although this may be accomplished bythe rear wheels. Alternatively, tines 12 may be moved toward and awayfrom the roof by an actuator, such as by mechanical linkage or by anelectromagnetic actuator in order to move the tines up and down. Inorder to provide flexibility, tines 12 may be attached to carriage 14 byspring-loaded bolts 18. Carriage 14 includes a prime mover 20, which maybe in the form of an electrical motor or a gas engine, such as atwo-stroke engine. A gear box 22 may be provided in order to convert theoutput of prime mover 20 to the appropriate ratio for driving wheel 16.A conveyor 24 may be provided in order to convey roof material loosenedby tines 12 upwardly. The roof material may then be diverted by adiverter 26 toward one side or the other of carriage 14. Diverter 26 mayalso function as a guiding handle. Tines 12 may be bent downwardly, asillustrated in FIG. 4, in order to further lift the roof materialupwardly as carriage 14 is moved forward. Tines 12 may be made of astrong resilient material, such as stainless steel, or the like. A tip28 of the tines may be rounded.

[0019] A saw 30 may be provided in order to sever the roof material intoa series of sections of roof material. Saw 30 is adapted to be operatedon a roof. To that extent, a handle portion 32 may be provided in orderto allow an operator to stand up while operating the saw portion 34. Sawportion 34 is illustrated as a circular saw of the type that is wellknown in the art. However, reciprocating saws, or other types of saws,may be utilized. Circular saw 34 includes a circular saw blade 36 havinga carbide tip or a diamond pointed tip and driven by a motor 35. Thismakes the saw blade more resistant to damage by roofing nails. The sawblade may be coated with an anti-stick material, such as Teflon™, toreduce adherence of roofing material. A base plate 38 supports the sawand an adjustment mechanism (not shown) may be provided in order toadjust the depth of the cut made by the saw portion 34 in order toensure that a cut is made substantially through the roofing materialwith little or no damage to the sub-roof. Handle portion 32 may includea grip 40 and an operating switch 42.

[0020] Saw 30 may include a guard 44 in order to provide personal safetyas well as an actuator 46 in order to retract the guard as is known inthe art. Guard 44 may have a cleanout slot 46, which is especially usedfor asbestos shingles which tend to adhere to surfaces to allow excessmaterial to be removed from saw blade 36. Thus, a tool and/or a solvent,such as kerosene, can be inserted into opening 46 in order to clean sawblade 36. A removable cover 48 may be provided over opening 46.

[0021] In an alternative embodiment, an apparatus 10′ includes acarriage 14′ with wheels 16 and tines 12 connected by bolts 18 to thecarriage. Conveyor 24 elevates the roof material into a shredder 50.Shredder 50 shreds the roof material and deposits the material into ahopper 52. The various functions have separate controls located on theoperator handle, which enable the operator to engage one or more of thefunctions, as desired. Shredder 50 may be a single-stage shredder or,where appropriate, a multiple-stage shredder. As illustrated in FIGS. 10and 11, shredder 50 is made up of synchronized shredder blade assemblies66 a, 66 b that are each rotatable about respective axles 68 a, 68 b.Each blade assembly is made up of a series of curved blades 70 a, 70 b,which are assembled in the fashion of a rotary grass mower andintertwine with each other as the blade assemblies are mutually rotatedby a gear or belt connection with prime mover 20 or by a separateelectric motor. Blade 70 a, 70 b may be coated with an anti-sticksurface, such as Teflon™, to resist adherence by the roofing material.While one set of blade assemblies are illustrated, shredder 50 may bemade up of another set of blade assemblies arranged perpendicular toassemblies 70 a, 70 b. This provides a crosscut action on the roofingmaterial. Hopper 52 may be lined with an anti-stick liner, such asTeflon™, or other such known anti-stick liner.

[0022] A magnet 54 may be provided in the hopper in order to attractnails, thereby separating the nails from the shredded roofing material.A cover 56 may be provided to provide access to the internal portion ofhopper 52 for cleaning, or the like. A discharge duct 58 discharges theshredded roofing material beyond carriage 14′. Discharge duct 58 may beoperated by an air compressor 60 and may be provided with a valve 62which, when opened, allows roof material to be discharged and, whenclosed, allows a buildup of pressure from an air injection nozzle 64.Once discharged from duct 58, the material falls by gravity off theroof.

[0023] Saw assembly 30 may be combined with apparatus 10′. Saw portion34 may be mounted on retractable supports 70 so that the function ofcutting the roof material into sections and removing the sections may becombined into a single step. Saw blade 36 would be attached to each sideof, and in front of, lifting tines 12. In this configuration, the sawwill move with the carriage. The saws can be driven from the prime moverby appropriate pulleys, gears, or, independently, by electric motors.Shredded roof material discharged by discharge duct 58 may be conveyed,such as through a flexible hose, to a receptacle where it may be usedfor recycling, such as into paving material, or the like.

[0024] Apparatus 10 may be guided by a handle. Alternatively, theapparatus 10 may be remote-controlled, such as by an individual on theground. In order to effect such remote control, a camera 66 may bepositioned to view the area forward of the apparatus. One advantage ofremote control is that it removes the operator from the roofenvironment. Also, an assembly may be provided to lift the apparatus tothe roof. This may be in the form of a ramp (not shown) which may befoldable and which may be leaned against the roof. For especially steeproofs, a safety guide assembly may be used to anchor the assembly to theroof, such as a by a cable extending over the peak of the roof andattached to the opposite side of the roof in order to ensure that theassembly is retained on the roof.

[0025] Changes and modifications in the specifically describedembodiments can be carried out without departing from the principles ofthe invention which is intended to be limited only by the scope of theappended claims, as interpreted according to the principles of patentlaw including the doctrine of equivalents.

1. A method of removing roof material, comprising: providing a saw andsawing the roof material with said saw into sections of roof material;and removing the sections of roof material from the roof.
 2. The methodof claim 1 wherein said saw comprises a circular saw.
 3. The method ofclaim 1 wherein said saw includes a handle for use by a standing user.4. The method of claim 1 including providing a set of tines for liftingthe sections of roof material from the roof.
 5. The method of claim 4wherein said tines are flexible.
 6. The method of claim 1 includingshredding the sections of roof material removed from the roof.
 7. Themethod of claim 6 including removing roofing nails from the shreddedroof material.
 8. The method of claim 7 including providing at least onemagnet and using said at least one magnet to remove said roofing nails.9. The method of claim 8 including rotating said at least one magnetpast a scrapper to dislodge roofing nails.
 10. The method of claim 6including discharging shredded roof material from the roof.
 11. Themethod of claim 10 including providing a blower and using said blower todischarge the shredded roof material from the roof.
 12. The method ofclaim 1 used to remove asphalt shingles.
 13. The method of claim 12including providing a guard for said saw and a cleanout opening in saidguard for providing access to the saw.
 14. The method of claim 1including adjusting a depth of cut of said saw.
 15. A roof materialremoval apparatus, comprising: a saw, said saw adapted for use incutting roof material into sections of roof material.
 16. The apparatusof claim 15 including a handle to allow a standing user to cut roofmaterial into sections of roof material.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15including an adjustment device to allow adjustment of depth of cut ofsaid saw.
 18. The apparatus of claim 15 including a guard for said sawand a cleanout opening in said guard to allow access to the saw.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 15 wherein said saw comprises a circular saw.
 20. Theapparatus of claim 19 wherein said circular saw is diamond tipped. 21.The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said saw comprises a blade coated withan anti-stick material.
 22. A roof material removal apparatus,comprising: a set of generally flexible tines and a carriage to guidesaid tines along a roof; and said tines propelled toward and away fromthe roof.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein said carriage includes aplurality of support wheels and wherein at least one of said supportwheels has non-round segments in order to propel said tines toward andaway from the roof as said at least one of said support wheels rotates.24. The apparatus of claim 23 including a prime mover for propellingsaid plurality of support wheels.
 25. The apparatus of claim 20 whereinsaid tines are generally curved away from the roof.
 26. The apparatus ofclaim 20 including a shredder for shredding roof material removed withsaid tines.
 27. The apparatus of claim 26 including a conveyor forconveying roof material to said shredder.
 28. The apparatus of claim 26including at least one magnet for removing nails from the shredded roofmaterial.
 29. The apparatus of claim 26 including a discharge fordischarging shredded roof material from said shredder.
 30. The apparatusof claim 29 wherein said discharge is pneumatic assisted gravitydischarge.
 31. The apparatus of claim 26 including a hopper forreceiving shredded roof material from said shredder.
 32. The apparatusof claim 31 wherein said hopper is lined with an anti-stick coating. 33.The apparatus of claim 22 including a saw, said saw adapted for use incutting roof material into sections of roof material.
 34. The apparatusof claim 33 including a handle to allow a standing user to cut roofmaterial into sections of roof material.
 35. The apparatus of claim 33wherein said saw is mounted for movement with said carriage.
 36. Theapparatus of claim 33 including an adjustment device to allow adjustmentof depth of cut of said saw.
 37. The apparatus of claim 33 including aguard for said saw and a cleanout opening in said guard to allow accessto the saw.
 38. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein said saw comprises acircular saw.
 39. The apparatus of claim 38 wherein said saw is diamondtipped.
 40. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein said saw comprises a bladecoated with an anti-stick material.